A/n: Thanks a bunch to everyone who has read and reviewed, and subscribed this story, it makes me feel so awesome that you guys are actually interested and that just keeps me going to thanks a bunch for that, so don't stop now please :)
Disclaimer: I only own Fate and the plot. Everything else belongs to the founders of TNA, who I think is Jeff Jarret, and whoever the hell is in involved with founding TNA.
So all-in-all it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Jay introduced us to the crowd, and the thousands veiwing at home using his cue cards to remember our names, poor Ryley, he couldn't pronounce her name if his life depended on it. He would call her Ry-lay, instead of Ry-lie every time he said her name, and every time she would have to correct him, it was quiet humorous though. Even with all the name flubs the crowd seemed to really like her wild southern personality, and spunk so I think it was safe to assume that she would be sticking around for the second round of the competition, thank god. If she got eliminated I think I would probably quit since there would be no one around to help me out when Leslie, and her little sidekick Amber set their sights on me.
And as for me, well I introduced myself, and said a few interesting things about myself, nothing to huge, the crowd seemed equally pleased with me as well so I wasn't sure if I had anything to worry about or not as of yet. Hopefully I wouldn't be the first girl eliminated from the competition because that would be really embarrassing, I mean I would actually have to go back home at some point and being ridiculed by everyone who saw me on the telly wouldn't be the best welcome home experience I ever had.
Next week we would have our very first elimination, I still found it hard to believe that people could actually judge us just by ten seconds of info about us, and just pictures of our smiling faces. I guess at this point in the competition we're only just eye-candy, hopefully all that will change soon but if just being eye-candy keeps me in the races then I guess just being eye-candy was good enough for me at the moment.
I knew I wouldn't be able to avoid it for long but Ryley finally found out that we both stayed in the same hotel and she insisted that she come over to my room and spend the night, along with Frankie Grayson who was another fellow contestant in the Knockout Lookout competition. Frankie was actually a really sweet and funny girl so I had no problem with her tagging along to spend the night as well. I'd given Kevin the heads-up via text message, and he planned on crashing in Kurt's room for tonight whilst I had my little, "sleepover" with the girls.
I lied wide awake in my bed with the adrenaline from tonight still pulsing through my veins making it nearly impossible for me to close my eyes for five seconds, let alone even think of sleeping. I glanced over to the bright neon green numbers on the alarm clock beside my bed telling me that it was now well past midnight and going on 1 a.m. The vans that would be coming to pick us and take us to to the training facility in Tampa would be arriving at 8 a.m. so now I really wasn't going to have my full eight hours of sleep to be well rested for what was to come. It turned out Jeff was actually booking us into a hotel not to far from the facility so we'd be spending pretty much all of our time there when we weren't here doing our segments on the show.
Somehow the three of us were able to pile up into the large king sized bed in my room together, and no nothing lesbian like happened just good, clean non-lesbian fun, so I glanced over to Ryley and Jenna who were both dead sleep, I think Ryley was even snoring just a little but it was so soft that I couldn't barely tell, and Jenna was in the middle so the distance made it a little harder to hear anyway, it sounded like a soft whistle blowing in the distance on a windy day.
I giggled softly at this before I slowly, quietly, and carefully removed the bed covers from my body and gently climbed out of bed making sure to not wake the other girls before I tip-toed across the room and grabbed the jean mini skirt I'd worn to the show tonight before I slipped it up onto my waist and walked over to grab my black ballet flats from the door and I quietly slipped out of the room unnoticed. Since it was okay for us to be seen in public I decided to go to 24hour Drug Store right across the street from the hotel to grab something that come help me get some sleep since I was going to need all my strength tomorrow once training started.
I currently stood in front of the large steel doors of the elevator as the pressed the down button and waited anxiously for it to arrive. I began tapping my palm against my thigh humming the theme song for the Knockout Lookout as I waited for it to arrive before finally I heard that delightful ding telling me it had arrived on my floor before the doors opened and it seemed like God was on my side since I walked into an empty elevator. I never liked standing in a cramped box surrounded by a dozen strangers, I was more of a suffer in silence sort of girl myself, just call me Bella Swan, just kidding if anyone called me that I'd personally give them a good kick in ass. Not that I have anything against Ms. Swan, but I'm getting off topic so lets just move on.
I'd pressed the now highlighted button which would be taking me down to the lobby and I was now waiting with my hands gripping the railings on the walls behind me. Suddenly when the elevator got to the seventh floors it suddenly stopped, and I mentally cursed whoever the hell was about to beak my peaceful silence as I closed my eyes not bothering to look at my intruder as the doors opened and in they walked. I didn't heard the sound of them punching a button so we both must have been going to the lobby together.
Against all my instincts I opened my eyes and glanced to the right at my fellow elevator passenger and I thought my jaw would hit the floor when I saw him. He was gorgeous, almost freakishly tall but gorgeous nonetheless. He was turned so that I could only see half his face, but what a beautiful half it was indeed. God that sounded so cheesy but it's true. His eyes from the one I could see were somewhat of a hazel like color, and his hair was short and spiky with a sort of sandy brown color. I was sure he was a wrestler on TNA, I'd seen him before but I just couldn't match his name with his face... oh crap! He caught me looking at him. I felt my cheeks instantly heat up when I heard him being to chuckle a little.
"Subtle, very subtle," he laughed.
What do I do? Deny everything of course. "What are you talking about?" I responded indifferently.
"You were looking at me, It's okay I don't mind," he responded coolly, I decided to risk it and glance over. Yep, his eyes were directly on mine even though he no doubt towered over me, his gorgeous hazel eyes.
"I have no clue what your talking about dude," I responded turning away praying for this elevator to move off the fourth floor already.
"I'm sure you don't," he replied sarcastically with another laugh. "Hey... I know you, you're one of those girls from the Knockout Lookout competition aren't you? What was it.... Ryley right?"
Do you guys know like how in movies, and television shows there's a boy and a girl talking and the sweet little romantic music is playing in the background, but then the guy says one of the most stupidest things and then the music just scratches out and the girls are just standing there looking pissed while the guy looks all dumb like he doesnt' know what he did wrong? Well, that's what just happened, well without the music.
If I once found him completely gorgeous, I sure as hell didn't anymore, the asshole didn't even remember my name, and worst he thought I was Ryley! Not that she wasn't attractive or anything, but I sure as hell was not Ryley Jenkins, I am Fate Alex Nash... I mean Fate Marie Heartfield dammit!
"No." I replied bluntly with a scowl as the doors opened and I stormed out of the elevator leaving him stunned I'm sure as to my sudden coldness towards him. I'm sure he'd figure it out sooner or later, probably at the next episode of TNA next week when they said my actual name, and then hopefully he'd feel like the complete douche bag that he was.
God if the talent on the show didn't even remember my name, my chances of surviving next weeks elimination was not looking very good in my favor.
----
The next morning Ryley and Frankie had to wake me up since I guess the pills worked a little too well and I didn't even hear the alarm clock go off this morning. I was still in a bad mood about my run-in with the mystery man in the elevator but I couldn't think about this since I had only an hour to get showered and dressed before the vans arrived to take us to Tampa to being our training.
Forty minutes later I was pinning up my brown hair before I began to apply a little make-up to my face while Ryley and Frankie were sitting on the bed in the room waiting for me to finish. Our bags were already packed, mostly full of sports bras, and Sufi shorts to train in, and ready for us to take them downstairs once the vans arrived.
"Um, Fate hun I don't wanna be a negative-Nelly but you got about ten minutes to finish before the vans arrive," Ryley reminded me.
"I'm coming, hold on," I muttered before pulling the hair pin out of my clenched teeth and sticking it up into my hair before I checked my face in the mirror one final time. "All done!" I stated as I walked out of the bathroom and headed back into the room to grab my purse before we headed downstairs.
"Are the others downstairs already?" Frankie asked as we grabbed our bags and headed for the door.
"Yeah, Alana just called and said that they were already down in the lobby," Ryley replied as I opened the door and walked out first, the two girls following after me as we headed down the hall towards the elevator which only reminded me of the guy I met in the elevator who couldn't even remember my name. Was I really that forgettable?
Once we'd made it down to the lobby it appeared that the girls weren't really holding up on their ends of the contract seeing as there were a group of guys from the company in the lobby as well co-mingling with the knockouts-in-training. I glanced over to laugh about it with Frankie and Ryley but when I glanced over they had both already run into the crowd to co-mingle with the guys as well. I sighed and giggled softly before I walked over into the group, but when I got there I quickly tried to hide behind one of the other girls in the competition but she was too short to hide me. Why was I hiding you ask? Because he was there. Mr. I-Don't-Remember-Girl's-Names from the elevator last night.
"Hey, it's you!" He called, I guess he spotted me.
I rolled my eyes and reluctantly stepped from behind the tree stump of a girl who was supposed to be my cover. "Yeah, it's me," I muttered avoiding eye contact with him and praying for the vans to arrive already.
"So, I'm guessing I said something wrong last night?" He asked navigating through the girls so that he was now standing in front of me.
I didn't respond but only gave him the look. It was the look that let all men know that a woman was extremely pissed off with them, and I could tell he noticed from the change in his facial expression, but before he could respond Leslie shouted.
"Vans are here!" That was the first time I was every happy to hear Leslie Diamond- I know, dead ringer for a stripper name right?- say anything.
Of course I was the first one to grab my bags off the floor and storm out of the front door to the lobby once again leaving the mystery man stunned alongside his friends in the lobby. Maybe I should learn his name?.... nah!